This weekend, men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson and his coworkers found letters filled with racist and derogatory comments shoved under their office doors. The letters contained the words "nigger," "liar," and "cheater" and nothing else.
Today is not the day to editorialize about racism.
If the Daily News spoke out about racism, it wouldn't accomplish much. Most people would agree that there's no place for racism on campus and those that don't wouldn't change their minds.
This weekend's events are about more than racism. The real issue is humanity and dignity, and how some fool (or fools) thought it was permissible to take them away from Thompson and his staff.
We won't deny that the language used was inexcusable, but the harassment of members of the men's basketball organization in such a secretive and cowardly fashion should be the main concern in the coming weeks.
In sports, the common decency everyone expects in everyday life is obviously absent some of the time. Fans have every right to cheer or jeer their team as they see fit. There's nothing that entitles anyone the right to do what happened this weekend, however.
Would it be right to chant "asshole, ASSHOLE" in class after a professor announced a pop quiz?
Would it be justifiable if someone taped a sign on your back incorrectly identifying you as a "cheater" after you did particularly well on a test?
Neither could be deemed acceptable, and it should be no different with sports. It doesn't matter if the team had a particularly poor season or that NCAA violations took place. The notes hidden in the men's basketball office under the cloak of darkness serve no purpose but to create unwarranted fear and distrust of the Ball State community.
Thompson and his staff deserve better than hostile words from an anonymous source. They deserve the same common courtesy we all expect to receive on a daily basis.
They deserve a work environment where safety isn't a concern.
They deserve to concentrate fully on their jobs instead of worrying about the next time someone is going to lash out.
Racism was no doubt a large part of what happened this weekend, but racism is only a small part of the larger issue.
No one should walk in fear of another on Ball State's campus. Everyone deserves more than that.
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